Mark Stuart still taking steps towards return to Bruins lineup

WILMINGTON — Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart, out since Dec. 7 with a broken hand a dislocated finger, is making continued progress on the comeback trail.

At the time of his injury, which occurred while making a pass in the team’s 3-2 overtime win against the Sabres, general manager Peter Chiarelli projected a four-to-six-week absence from the lineup for the blueliner. Wednesday marked four weeks and one day since the injury. Stuart has been skating without teammates, and prior to Wednesday’s practice he took to the ice with strength and conditioning coach John Whitesides. He’s not yet to the point where he can work with pucks, but his coach hopes that he isn’t far off.

“He’s skating and he’s coming along,” Julien said of Stuart. “I don’t know how far he is from starting to handle pucks, but at least he’s on the ice. Things seem to be heading in the right direction.”

In 26 games this season, Stuart has a plus-3 rating and a pair of assists to go with 23 penalty minutes.